Chapter 7.
Life of The Party!
Roy
(I know Anna is in way over her head. I just don't know what Todd and his merry band of psychos are really after? It's all too elaborate just to get some strange pussy, and there's more going on here than I can wrap my head around... Yet!)
When Anna and I arrived at Luigi's, a hush came over the restaurant.
"Right this way," the maître d' said curtly.
We got a mix of smirks and compassionate looks with a chorus of cleared throats and hushed titters from the patrons as the maître d' escorted us to an empty table, and I got the distinct impression he would not be seating any other guests at our table.
Rob and Sandy were sitting several tables away, and neither of them would make eye contact with us as Sandy consoled Becky over her shoulder. Then the waiter, whom I generously tipped the night before, showed up with two flutes and another bottle of their finest champagne.
"On the house. Mr. and Mrs. Benson," The waiter said contritely.
"Um, I don't think we're in the mood for..." I tried to say champagne but...
"Speak for yourself," Anna sharply interjected, then grabbed a glass and held it out to be filled.
I pushed the other flute toward the waiter with a nod, and he judiciously popped the cork and filled our glasses.
Anna is not a drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but she was in a mood and downed half the glass in one gulp, then held it out to be topped off before the waiter could put the bottle in the ice bucket. I took a sip and nodded my approval, thinking it was going to be a long night.
We ate dinner in relative silence, and I never did finish my glass of champagne. Anna, however, may as well have just drank right from the bottle and kept her glass topped-off until the champagne was gone. When the waiter came around to see if we would like dessert, we passed, and I slipped him another twenty-dollar tip for the champagne and his courteous service under the uncomfortable circumstances. Then I stood and suggested we catch the sunset as I held my arm out to escort Anna. The expensive bottle of champagne had clearly lightened her mood, but I wouldn't say it was for the better as she hooked her arm in mine.
"Sure. Whatever you wanna do, hubby!" She loudly slurred, raising a chorus of snickers and a coughed-out cuck from a nearby table.
The two other couples on the sundeck paid us no mind as we kicked back on some loungers. Unfortunately, there was a heavy cloud front to the west, and the sunset was a bust.
I felt like I was waiting for the executioner to finish sharpening the guillotine blade as we sat there killing time until our mandatory attendance of Todd's "hero party" at Gulliver's. Then Anna took my hand and broke the awkward silence.
"Do you remember the last time we went out dancing?" She asked with a giggly wistful sigh.
"I sure do," I replied.
It was last New Year's Eve, and we had a great night, despite a few handsy drunks!
"Look, I know you don't want to do this. I don't want to either," Anna offered. "But we can't hide from everybody for the rest of the trip. So Just buy Todd and his friends a round of drinks, then we'll mingle a little and go. Okay?" She rhetorically asked.
"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled, pretty sure that was not what Todd had in mind or how the evening would go.
"Damn it, Roy! We're stuck on this fuckin' boat, and I'm not going to hide in our room because you are embarrassed about falling overboard!" Anna flippantly stated.
The champagne had definitely loosened her tongue.
"Really! You think that's why I'm embarrassed?" I incredulously asked. Anna knew damned well that's not what I was embarrassed about, and her eyes drifted to her lap. "But you're right about one thing. We are stuck on this fuckin' boat! And I'm not putting up with any more of their SHIT!" I angrily declared.
"Well, I'm not hiding. I'm going dancing. So if you wanna go hide in our room... Fine! I'm sure I can find somebody to dance with me at Gulliver's," Anna spat with a hostile glare.
Then she jumped up and headed for the stairs in a huff. I knew I didn't have a choice and caught up with her at the bottom of the stairs. She sneered at me, turned, and strutted toward the stairway to the third deck, headed for Gulliver's. I followed her, and after a few steps, she stopped and whirled on me.
"The room is that way, Roy!" Anna spat with fire in her eyes as she stiff-arm pointed toward our stateroom.
"So it is," I replied flippantly and held out my elbow resigned to my fate.
Her fiery glare softened a little as she hooked her arm into mine with a "Humph!"
The techno-pop was bumping, and the place was packed. It seemed like the word had gotten around that the schmuck who fell off the ship would be at Gulliver's tonight. Or, I was just being paranoid.
When we walked in, someone came up behind us, threw their arms over our shoulders, and squeezed as they stuck their head between ours.
"Did you love birds enjoy the champagne?" Terra asked.
Anna looked like she had seen a ghost, and I figured it was best to not dig my hole any deeper and just play along.
"Yes, and thank you," I replied.
"It was the least I could do for our guest of honor," Terra said as she squeezed us tighter. Then she kissed my cheek, released us, and took Anna's hand. "Right this way."
Terra guided Anna through the crowd, and I followed them to where Todd and his cronies were waiting for the guest of honor at a large table by the dance floor. Todd stood and waved toward the bar to get a waitress's attention as we approached.
"Good to see you upright and walking around, Mr. Benson. Things could have turned out a lot worse today if it weren't for everyone's best efforts," Todd boisterously declared and raised his shot glass.
"Hear-hear!" Everyone within earshot shouted as they raised their drinks.
Terra motioned for me to sit across from Todd, and I sat, expecting Anna to sit next to me. But then, Terra sat my wife next to Todd and gave me a cheesy grin as she sat at the end of the table between us.
There was an open bottle of champagne with several flutes lined up next to the ice bucket, and Terra filled a flute for Anna and topped off her own.
"Here, my pet," Terra said as she handed Anna the champagne and raised her glass.
My wife looked a bit abashed when she called her pet. But then, Anna shrugged it off and raised her glass with an odd little smirk. Terra blew her a kiss as they clinked glasses and then downed more than half their flutes in one pull.
Just then, a waitress came to the table, and I watched Todd run his hand up the back of her fishnet stockings and under her black mini-skirt as Carrie, according to her name tag, leaned in with a big smile to see what he wanted. Todd pointed at me and, I assumed, told Carrie I'd be buying the next round as he groped her ass and rattled off the drink order! Then he tapped Anna on the shoulder, and she leaned in to see what he wanted over the loud music. He asked her something, and my wife answered with an ear-to-ear smile.
Todd relayed the information to Carrie and swatted her butt. She jumped with a giggly squeal, then came around the table and held out her hand with a disgusted smirk. When I handed her my room slash credit keycard, Carrie snatched it from my hand with a bratty kissy-face, then sashayed off to do Todd's bidding.